The British backlash over the US handling of post-invasion Iraq grew
Sunday as another military commander blasted Washington's "fatally
flawed" policy.
Major General Tim Cross, the top British officer involved in planning
post-war Iraq, said he raised serious concerns with then US defence
secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the possibility of the country
descending into chaos.
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"Right from the very beginning we were all very concerned about the
lack of detail that had gone into the post-war plan -- and there is
no doubt that Rumsfeld was at the heart of that process," the 56-year-
old said. "I had lunch with Rumsfeld in Washington before the
invasion in 2003 and raised concerns about the need to
internationalise the reconstruction of Iraq and work closely with the
United Nations. "I also raised concerns over the numbers of troops
available to maintain security and aid reconstruction. "He didn't
want to hear that message. The US had already convinced themselves
that Iraq would emerge reasonably quickly as a stable democracy.
"Anybody who tried to tell them anything that challenged that idea --
they simply shut it out. "Myself and others were suggesting things
simply would not be as easy as that. "But he ignored my comment. He
dismissed it."
